I haven't seen any of this guy's work. I probably won't see Kick Ass 2 and haven't seen his other films. For those that have seen them, is this guy a good writer/director? Is he on par with Mathew Vahn? From what I read in the reviews Kick Ass 2 was missing the special quality that a master filmic craftsman like Vahn brings to a picture. Should I be worried?

It boggles my mind! Why would Fox yet again put a hack on a project that could potentially be as successful as the Dark Knight movies or the Avengers? It's such a missed opportunity. There are so many fan boys out here in the world that, if given the chance, could make a much better X-force movie than this guy. Oh well, at least we have DOFP coming!

Bryan Singer had done 2 small films-The Usual Suspects and Apt Public before
doing X-Men

Chris Nolan did small films before Batman Begins

Joss whedon was known for his cult TV shows and had only directed one
film-Box office disappoint/Cult favorate Serenity before being choosen to do
the Avengers.

They may have been a bit green at the time, but Donner, Burton, Singer, Nolan and Whedon proved themselves in a big way when given the opportunity. The Omen, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, Memento, Insomnia and Serenity are all truly wonderful films. I'm not sure Wadlow has anywhere near that level of talent.

Yeah, that's probably not the best example. Most those films are considered classic nowadays.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Reme Lebeau

It boggles my mind! Why would Fox yet again put a hack on a project that could potentially be as successful as the Dark Knight movies or the Avengers? It's such a missed opportunity. There are so many fan boys out here in the world that, if given the chance, could make a much better X-force movie than this guy. Oh well, at least we have DOFP coming!

Calling someone a hack without seeing any of their work boggles my mind. You jumped to conclusion pretty quick between posts there.

If you wanna know if he's up to the task then best to watch KA2 and judge for yourself. It's accurate to the book, and the changes were good ones imo. Visit the KA2 thread, most people dig it. He's wrote a few episodes of Bates Motel which got strong reviews. The thing he has going for him the most is that his pitch impressed Fox enough to move forward and that he's a fan. If Fox was impressed enough to move forward with hiring him that's a good sign.

Bryan Singer had done 2 small films-The Usual Suspects and Apt Public before
doing X-Men

Chris Nolan did small films before Batman Begins

Joss whedon was known for his cult TV shows and had only directed one
film-Box office disappoint/Cult favorate Serenity before being choosen to do
the Avengers.

My perspective is that talent is not based on experience, it's based on insight. Although directors like Donner and Whedon started on television, it doesn't necessarily mean they weren't always great insightful directors. They were insightful in their directing regardless of what medium their work was delivered on.

For instance, I was a Buffy/Angel fanatic when they were airing and I can say that every time Whedon directed an episode it was something special. Stylisticlly the episodes had his special signature on it which he relayed through his ability to speak the filmic language. One great example is the Hush episode of Buffy that was essentially a masterpiece of silent cinema. This signature style carried through to the Avengers which is why the moment I heard he was handling it I became confident that we (the world) was in for a major treat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarex

They may have been a bit green at the time, but Donner, Burton, Singer, Nolan and Whedon proved themselves in a big way when given the opportunity. The Omen, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, Memento, Insomnia and Serenity are all truly wonderful films. I'm not sure Wadlow has anywhere near that level of talent.

I may not have seen his Wadlow's films but I would have to agree based on his Rotten Tomatoes ratings along.

Quote:

Originally Posted by def28

Yeah, that's probably not the best example. Most those films are considered classic nowadays.

Calling someone a hack without seeing any of their work boggles my mind. You jumped to conclusion pretty quick between posts there.

If you wanna know if he's up to the task then best to watch KA2 and judge for yourself. It's accurate to the book, and the changes were good ones imo. Visit the KA2 thread, most people dig it. He's wrote a few episodes of Bates Motel which got strong reviews. The thing he has going for him the most is that his pitch impressed Fox enough to move forward and that he's a fan. If Fox was impressed enough to move forward with hiring him that's a good sign.

Fox was impressed enough to move forward with Brett Ratner on X3 though so a Fox decision isn't always going to portend a good movie. If Wadlow's a fan that's a good thing, but if he's a bad director it won't matter.

Responding to your comment about my quick run to judgement, I can't deny what the Rotten Tomatoe numbers communicate. I've read enough of these ratings to know that when a film is rated in the 20th percentile, it means that the film making was bad. Generally a film falling between the 40th and 70th percentile means that critics disagree but there is a high likelihood that the director knows how to make good choices (which ultimately wind up being controversial). When a film ranks 30 or below, it means there's something fundamentally wrong with the way the film was directed. A good director may have one of these artistic flops every so often, but it certainly wouldn't happen on every attempt. All three of Wadlow's films that have been rated in the 20th percentile. To me that is pretty much conclusive evidence that the director doesn't really know what she/he is doing.

In contrast look at Mathew Vaughn's ratings, they're in the 75th percentile and above for each of his directing gigs. That speaks volumes to his talent. What is says is that he is a director who fundamentally understands the filmic language. He combines spectacle with substance both in the storytelling and in ability to weave structural themes throughout the narrative and the visuals.

I accept that Kick Ass 2 was likely enjoyable for you and others. I will watch it when it's available on Netflix because I do want to know for sure that I'm right about him. I can tell you now that I didn't much care for the first Kick-Ass because of the story, but the film itself, which was my first exposure to Vaugn's work, made me feel very confident that X-men:First Class would turn out to be a great film. In fact I had no doubt about it. And that's exactly what happened.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angamb

saw Kick ass 2, and I liked it. Its not a master piece, obviously, but I think it was a good follow up, not memorable, but still good.

So.... yeah, he has the skills to make a badass X-Force movie. And since that's mainly what XForce should be (badass), he is fine.

X3 had a lot of badassary in it, (ie the Magneto truck scene, the death of Xavier scene, and a lot of the final battle scenes). The problem was that the film making and storytelling was so bad that it completely turned off the general public to the X-men franchise. A badass X-force movie that is directly badly will make it's money back, but it might not do anything for the popularity of the X-force brand, which would suck (I want multiple X-force films).

Fox was impressed enough to move forward with Brett Ratner on X3 though so a Fox decision isn't always going to portend a good movie. If Wadlow's a fan that's a good thing, but if he's a bad director it won't matter.

Brett Ratner didn't write X3. The guy who's writing Days Of Future Past did. He also wrote Jumper and This Means War which got extremely low RT's. Bad studio decisions also figured heavily into X3's production. Hopefully thats all in the past.

Wadlow isn't even lined up to Direct yet. He hopes to, but he's just writing the script as of now. The whole reason we are even talking about this project happening is because Wadlow said instead of doing solos they should be doing other teams. He's 100% right there.

Quote:

Responding to your comment about my quick run to judgement, I can't deny what the Rotten Tomatoe numbers communicate. I've read enough of these ratings to know that when a film is rated in the 20th percentile, it means that the film making was bad. Generally a film falling between the 40th and 70th percentile means that critics disagree but there is a high likelihood that the director knows how to make good choices (which ultimately wind up being controversial). When a film ranks 30 or below, it means there's something fundamentally wrong with the way the film was directed. A good director may have one of these artistic flops every so often, but it certainly wouldn't happen on every attempt. All three of Wadlow's films that have been rated in the 20th percentile. To me that is pretty much conclusive evidence that the director doesn't really know what she/he is doing.

You went from "Should I be worried?" to he's a hack in one post. Without seeing anything. You can't defend, bash or debate his work as a Director when you havn't seen it. You can be worried or disappointed that critics don't like him, but that's about it. Might as well get worried that the guy who Directed Jack The Giant Slayer and The Writer of This Means War/X3 are bringing you Days Of Future Past.

First Class, The Wolverine and Kick-Ass 2 were all awesome. I don't care who gets critic bragging rights or who made the most money. Fox is on a roll, and Wadlow did a solid job adapting KA2. I have no doubt that Wadlow is gonna give the X-Force script his all, and I believe Fox is also putting forth an effort and being careful who they give the go ahead to. If it's a bad script, Fox aint gonna greenlight it. Things have changed for the studio and Rothman is gone.

Yeah, that's probably not the best example. Most those films are considered classic nowadays.

Calling someone a hack without seeing any of their work boggles my mind. You jumped to conclusion pretty quick between posts there.

If you wanna know if he's up to the task then best to watch KA2 and judge for yourself. It's accurate to the book, and the changes were good ones imo. Visit the KA2 thread, most people dig it. He's wrote a few episodes of Bates Motel which got strong reviews. The thing he has going for him the most is that his pitch impressed Fox enough to move forward and that he's a fan. If Fox was impressed enough to move forward with hiring him that's a good sign.

All of the director's films have been released already, so why do you go to the conclusion that he didn't watch any of his films?

__________________

Quote:

Originally Posted by childeroland

Plenty of male-led action films fail, yet the actors' gender is not blamed. Why should it be different for women? Especially since far more male-led action films are made than female-led action films?

Alot of director have strengths and weaknesses, i mean if it wasn't for days of future past i doubt any studios would be chasing singer right now to direct a film after jack the giant slayer bombed whether it was his fault or not

__________________A Guest star on this Forum Since 2004

J.J. Abrams “We are standing on the shoulders of Episodes I through VI.”

My worry is more that X Force will contradict the existing films somehow. There's such a lack of planning and precise continuity in this franchise that I worry that X Force will be too much of its own thing. I hope Singer gives his approval to the script to make sure it doesn't go against anything in DoFP or in future films he may be considering.

As for Jeff Wadlow, I have no idea if he can pull it off. I just hope he can. At least James Mangold did manage to make a decent X-movie; he's the only one apart from Singer who has far been able to grasp the idea of a solid X-film and it's a shame he wasn't better rewarded by the critics or box office. So maybe Jeff Wadlow will manage it too.

My worry is more that X Force will contradict the existing films somehow. There's such a lack of planning and precise continuity in this franchise that I worry that X Force will be too much of its own thing. I hope Singer gives his approval to the script to make sure it doesn't go against anything in DoFP or in future films he may be considering.

As for Jeff Wadlow, I have no idea if he can pull it off. I just hope he can. At least James Mangold did manage to make a decent X-movie; he's the only one apart from Singer who has far been able to grasp the idea of a solid X-film and it's a shame he wasn't better rewarded by the critics or box office. So maybe Jeff Wadlow will manage it too.

Vaughn's film First Class was great, but it was very much also a Singer movie (he conceived story, and was a producer), so it's hard to judge Vaughn on his own terms. First Class seems as much a Singer film in many ways. I guess I should have included Vaughn too as someone who could make a good X-Men movie, as he was the director.